Xu Jingyang Moving His Family
Cui Zizhong (Chinese, 1574–1644)
1644
- Medium
- Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
- Classification
- Painting
- Dimensions
- Overall: 268.2 x 66 cm (105 9/16 x 26 in.); Painting only: 165.3 x 64 cm (65 1/16 x 25 3/16 in.); Overall with knobs: 268.2 x 74.1 cm (105 9/16 x 29 3/16 in.)
- Culture
- China, Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
- Museum
- Cleveland Museum of Art, Chinese Art
- Credit line
- Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Tweens profiles and older: its subjects are known and suit older children. How works are placed
View at the Cleveland Museum of Art
About this work
Xu Jingyang was a dedicated fourth-century Confucian official who allegedly turned into a Daoist immortal. This scroll depicts the legend that when he attained immortality, he took his entire household, including chickens and dogs, to paradise.
Cui Zizhong’s painting style intentionally referenced ancient masters. Typical of the pre-Song dynasty landscape tradition, there is the use of blue and green colors and an emphasis on outline rather than texture. While the trembling outlines are reminiscent of earlier painters, the flickering light on rocks and trees is a stylistic feature of Cui’s own time.
